A Flow Controlled Virtual Connection (FCVC) protocol for use in a distributed switching architecture is presently known in the art, and is discussed below with reference to FIG. 1. This protocol involves communication of status (buffer allocation and current state) on a per virtual connection, such as a virtual channel connection or a virtual path connection, basis between upstream and downstream network elements to provide a "no cell loss" guarantee. A cell is the unit of data to be transmitted. Each cell requires a buffer to store it.
Presently known flow control mechanisms further provide for the application of connection-level flow control among a plurality of connections, each having equivalent access to a shared buffer pool in the receiver. No distinction in buffer allocation is made within a service category, regardless of time-sensitivity of one or more of the data cell sequences.